TORCH in hand, surrounded by dust in the attic of The Irish Times, your correspondent rustles through hoary old picture files before his hand alights on the object of his search: the file on The Irish Times Debate, the oldest inter varsity debating competition in the country.

Crumbs, is that young Henry Kelly, individual winner in 1968, before the geriatric Going for Gold audience corrupted him? And there's Marian Finucane, best individual in 1971 and now ear bent host of RTE radio's Liveline and Derek Davis, star of Still Alive at Three and team winner in 1969, sharing file space with Adrian Hardiman SC, individual winner in 1970 and 1973, the Attorney General Dermot Gleeson, team winner in 1968, and, oh, hundreds of others.

Actually, the law has provided a refuge of sorts for over 30 of the 100 or so winners of the debates. Unusually, no politician of the future has ever won a title, although President Mary Robinson and Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht Michael D. Higgins both competed in the finals but failed to add their names to the record of victors.

For in the 36 years of its history, the list of competitors and winners of the IT debates reads like a rollcall of the rich and famous. Stars of TV and radio, writers and journalists and more barristers than one can shake a gavel at, crowd the lists.

Journalist Eamonn McCann was the winner of the individual competition in 1965 and describes it as a "romp". "I remember being struck by the studious demeanour and pompous tones of the Southerners in particular," he says. "It was a matter of life and death to some of them but the Northerners were more light hearted. It wasn't life and death to us, it was just fun."

His team mate was Michael Bowes Egan, now deceased, a former winner of the team trophy in 1962. McCann spoke without notes, which he believes was the main reason for his victory although he says it wasn't by design.

"WE were supposed to sit down and work out a strategy, but I just together. It wasn't that I was the best speaker but that the judges were impressed by the strength of a speaker without notes."

He still believes the debates are great training grounds for lawyers. "They didn't have to believe any of the shite," he says. "It's no coincidence that many of Ireland's greatest lawyers were winners of The Irish Times Debate."

Sadly, the participation of the northern colleges has decreased since the glory years of the early sixties, a situation which the organisers and participants continue to regret.

Professor David McConnell of TCD was a team winner of the competition in 1965 and 1966 with Cian O hEigeartaigh, now an RTE television producer. They went on to win the Observer Mace competition in England in 1966.

"We took it very seriously for the most part, he says. "I think we felt that we could do anything and if we were only given a chance we would change the world, much for the better."

He feels his debating experience stood him in good stead in later life. "I don't think you can get very far in any walk of life unless you're able to put your point across. Debating was 50 per cent of my university education and at least 50 per cent of its value. It was also tremendous training for life as a university lecturer. Facing first year medical science students was not that much different to an Irish Times final."

THE debates began in 1960 when the Union of Students in Ireland asked The Irish Times for sponsorship for an Irish students' competition similar to the Observer Mace in Britain. Eventually, The Irish Times took on the main organisation of the competition, appointing a convenor as general overseer. This year's convenor is Kerida Naidoo BL, a former participant in The Irish Times Debate, who claims he was "robbed" in the final but says he isn't bitter. Honest.

This year some familiar societies will be competing for the final honours, all of whom have won the team competition before: TCD Hist, UCD L&H, UCG Lit & Deb and the King's Inns. Of this year's participants only UL's recently founded Debating Union have yet to field a winning team.

UCD L&H has accounted for a record nine of the individual winners and nine team titles, but the old reliables ran aground in the early 1980s and since then have only won one team and one individual title. TCD Hist follows close behind with eight team titles and six individual winners; UCC has accumulated five of each and the King's Inns has accounted for three team and four individual titles. Finally, UCG's Lit and Deb, who are heavily represented in the lineup for this year's final, have taken one team and two individual titles, the last in 1987.

The motion for this year's final is That this house believes that the punishment should fit the crime and it takes place this Friday, February 16th, at 8.00 p.m. in Theatre L, UCD.